A new organisation is offering to loan charities the money they are due from legacies, helping to eliminate the 12-18 months that can elapse between notification of a legacy and receipt of funds.

The Legacy Fundraising Corporation will advance up to 75 per cent of the bequest, as long as this is a minimum of £25,000, in return for “a very low interest rate”.

Working in partnership with “major UK and European banks and financial institutions”, LFC will give the loans to not-for-profit organisations upon confirmation that the charity will receive the legacy income, subject to an assessment of the organisation.

LFC’s senior management team includes Adrian Randall, former finance director of Cancer Research UK and founding chair of the Charity Finance Directors’ Group.

The company is led by management director Peter Collins, who is known for launching the first charity trustee insurance scheme.

Randall and Collins are joined by Michael Collins, former director of fundraising and head of business development at the British Heart Foundation, and John Lutterlock, chair and chief executive of Merchant House Finance.